2016-10-24 - Good Idea, Bad Idea
A man in a trench has a table set up not far from Jim's Diner, a table with cards splayed across it. Ordinary playing cards, but in his hand they are a blur of motion as he arranges and rearranges them. His cockneyed british accent makes it twice as hard to understand as his words flutter forth in rapid staccato. It's a guess the ace game, and he's shuffling and reshuffling like a pro back and forth over and over."Alrighty, kin we get a taker? Can we git a sharp eye looker? Find the ace and reap the prize! Ten to one!" Kara Zor-El comes out of her shift at the diner. It was a pretty good shift. No one asking her to 'prove' that she's Supergirl. No arm wrestling challenges, no people asking her to fly or asking if they can try to stab her with a knife or any of the other crazy stuff people ask. She really, really, really wished Jim didn't advertise it. But on the other hand, no one EVER tried to rob the diner or start trouble in or around it. The fact that it was across the bay from the Titans was one thing. The fact that one of the Titans' most powerful members supposedly worked there was another. Which is why it was odd to see someone grifting and hustling for cash outside of it. Kara walks over as part of the crowd to watch the man in the trenchcoat doing his thing. She probably stands out, if only because she's an exceptionally attractive blonde girl. Then again - California.. He's winning, and there's only a minimal amount of nonsense is going on. That's pretty impressive, in and of itself. He's whipping around the cards with masterful dexterity, proof that he's done this for a while and all with a cigarette secure between his lips which makes it slightly more impressive. He's a whiz without needing his eyes on the deck. The man at the table is about six feet even and blonde, and beneath his trench is a yuppie suit complete with shirt and tie that seems to be allergic to irons. Eventually his luck seems to turn around, and he slips a card right up his sleeve. The move is so slick and practiced that noone notices the card switch. Boom, another sad customer. The blonde fellow is watching the crowd, relying on his knowledge of his deck to keep rolling. He eventually calls over to the attractive blonde who apparently works at nearby Jim's,"Ello there, love! Care t' take a chance? Make some change? Y'look like the lucky sort! Come come, don't be shy, lass. Guess the ace! That's the game, Ace of spades..or rather for you it should be the Ace of Hearts!" Kara Zor-El quirks a little smile as she's called out by the flimflam artist who's giving her the corny compliments. She takes a few steps forward and brushes her hair behind her ear. "Okay? Um... what do I do?" she asks, peering at the game. Constantine holds up the goal card, an Ace of Hearts like he said,"Just guess which card this is, one of three. Bet a dollar and you get ten if you win! But I warn you, these cards are quick, those pretty eyes of yours better be sharp as they look lass!" He winks a sky blue eye and shuffles his deck before fluttering them from one hand to the other. He could trade tricks with Gambit. Kara Zor-El nods a little. "Oh... okay?" she says as she takes out a dollar from her pocket and puts it on the table before waiting for Constantine to do his thing. Constantine knocks off his ash behind him courteously, then gets to work with his latest mark. He sets the shuffled deck down on on the table, giving it a firm tap before slipping a trio of cards off the top. Showing the three, sure enough one of them is the Ace in question while the other two are a 2 of Spades and a Joker. Giving her a moment to memorize them, he sets them on on the table and spreads them evenly before beginning his routine. The cards flicker back and forth, uncannily resting in the same three positions as they travel back and forth,"Round anna round anna round they go...Now! Which is it, love?" No shenanigans, just quick hands and experience at work. Kara Zor-El looks at the cards. Aside from the fact that she could just look through the cars with x-ray vision, Kara's vision was more than acute enough to follow even Batman's sleight of hand, so it was enough for this guy as well. With it? It was a foregone conclusion. Kara points to the correct card. "This one?" John's smile is genuine, finally someone worth scamming. He'd have to step up his game for this, since the lady's eyes are indeed as sharp as they look. He sets a ten dollar bill to the side and asks,"Well done, miss..." He shuffles his deck as he asks,"Care to try making it twenty? Aughta be plenty t'git yer next lunch, love!" Kara Zor-El looks at John and shrugs a little. "Okay, I guess so?" She looks at the $10, then at John. Kara Zor-El tilts her head. "Although the lunch special at the diner is only actually $11.95." The blonde card whiz chuckles at her uncertainty, eating it up since she's a stranger to him. He makes his best effort at a grand show of artistically shuffling the deck, the cards flying through the air to the amazement of people passing by. It's all about good advertisement! Passing from hand to hand for several moments, the deck finally comes back to rest on the table where he wraps it stylistically."Well then, let's get with it eh?" John flickers three more cards to his hand, yet again the Ace of Hearts is among them along with a King of Clubs and 5 of Diamonds. He gets with it yet again once he's done theshow, his hands a blur to onlookers too fast for most of the other onlookers."Round anna round, anna round...There!" Resting his hands, he asks,"Which one, love?" Once again, just pure dexterity on display. Maybe he doesn't like actually cheating the pretty. Kara Zor-El again points to one of the cards - the middle one. "This one?" she says, with mock innocence that she didn't definitely know which card it was. Constantine bites through his cigarette as he's now into his cigarette budget. Those aren't cheap, and they don't sell his brand anywhere but the better off tobacco stores here stateside. They call them Silk Cuts for a reason. He spits the sundered tip to the side, and is smiling again like all is well,"Good job, love! Well then, here's your twenty now...have a lovely day!" He smiles and looks around hoping someone else stops by so he can get to earning it back! Kara Zor-El takes the twenty, then pauses. She looks at the twenty dollar bill, then asks, "Double or nothing?" before putting the money back on the table. Shuffling his cards as he regards her for a long moment, Constantine hrms and says,"Deal. But...that's quite steep for me. I'll take the deal for a drink. I'm parched." He continues shuffling as he awaits her response. Constantine shuffling his cards one last time he says,"Righto, then let's get with it." He flips out the cards, slipping a fourth card up his sleeve with a subtle gesture before showing the blonde her three. Once again, the card is there along with a two of spade and queen of clubs. Up his sleeve is a second queen of clubs, he really knows his deck. He then gets with it without further delay. He's as quick as he was last time, maybe a little quicker with so much on the line. "Round anna round, anna round we go...And, there. Which'n is it?" Kara Zor-El looks at Constantine, and puts her finger on the card which is the Ace of Spades. "This one?" Picking up the card, Constantine manages to do so in such a way that he swaps the card up his sleeve for the ace unbeknownst to the mundane onlookers. Meanwhile, the Ace is up his sleeve before he shows her the queen,"Oops...sorry lass." Kara Zor-El tilts her head, looking at him with x-ray vision, then says, "I'm not that sorry." she says as she takes ahold of his arm. For a little blonde teenager, the girl has quite a strong grip actually. "I did pick the right card. But it just went up here. Must have been an accident, right?" she says as she uses her free hand to pull the Ace from up his sleeve and shows it to him, smiling politely. Constantine snerks slightly as he loses his crowd right then an there. Jeers and flustered cries abound from people who lost dollars to him, and he's peering about wondering what exactly to do as he's clearly held fast by a girl a good deal smaller than him. A blonde and fetching one at that."Eeh...right! Accident. Quite the breeze, came outta nowhere!" Kara Zor-El looks at him with an amused smile on her pretty face. "Oh I'm sure it was. Right out of nowhere." She nods her head over at the sign on the door to the diner, trying to clue Constantine in. Kara Zor-El takes the $40, while still keeping John's hand from moving. Constantine wasn't going to own up to it just like that in front of everyone, that'd be on par with groveling! But when she nods at the door towards the sign, he does saucer eye for a noticeable moment. He can read people, it comes with a lot of valuable experience at cards. You learn deception, and how to detect it. She meant it, and now he knows she's Supergirl. He feels like a heel. Good job. Standing there like a helpless dope being held fast by his arm, there really isn't anything he can do about it as she takes her money from him. Not being completely void of options however, he points out low amidst the angry voices and cheers for her win,"You still owe me a drink though, love..." Kara Zor-El thinks about that. "Technically, I did pick the ace. Twice actually." She pauses. "But sure... I can buy you a drink with some of my winnings." she says with a smile. "Do me a favor though. Close up shop here? Jim doesn't really want his customers getting fleeced. I'm asking nicely." Constantine grumps at that, but he's a friendly sport so it's a cheerful gesture,"Come now. Most of them it were right fair and square, so not technically fleecing...but you's the boss." He pockets his deck and the remnants of his winnings to head off in retreat from the less cheerful losers held at bay by the apparently superstrong girl. Kara Zor-El smiles before letting go of his hand. "Just so you know, I'm underage, so if you want a drink, it'll need to be in the diner. Can't really buy one at a bar." She waits for him to head into the diner with her. Constantine shrugs at that as he rightens and replies,"Shucks that I weren't more specific. Sounds fine, I'm famished anyways." With that he goes to join Kara in heading into the diner. Kara Zor-El heads into the diner with John, and goes to sit down at one of the tables. She looks at one of the other waitresses. "Um... Tiffani, could you ask Jim if I could get a couple of specials and drinks for me and um.... what's your name again, and what would you like to drink? Coke, Ginger Ale, lemonade?" Constantine shrugs nonchalantly at the question, replying,"Constantine, John Constantine. An' a ginger ale if you would. Since we's drinkin' non alcoholic an' such." He smiles and glances about for the likely seat. Kara Zor-El nods and orders two specials and two ginger ales. Constantine settles on over to the tables when the waiter brings them over. He drums his fingers once, then the raises his brows at the the girl before him and says,"So you's the real deal, eh? Miss cape an' leotard herself, pint sized lady counterpart to the flyin' blue boyscout eh? Guess that rounds out me day. Step off the boat, get shut down by...what's your name 'gain?" Kara Zor-El smiles a little. "Kara. Kara Zor-El." she says before taking a sip of the ginger ale. "Yep, real deal, although I don't wear a leotard, it's a half shirt and skirt. Powergirl wears the leotard." She puts down the glass. "Also, didn't think I was pint-sized to Kal. AKA 'flying blue boyscout.'" Constantine shrugs a little as he sips at his drink, not used to drinking virgin this time of night. He replies easily,"Well. Next to the blue bomber, Kal you said? He's a pretty big fella. Last I seen'im, I think he was taller than ol' Bats. Was only the once though." Kara Zor-El looks John over. "Well I guess I'll always think of him as my baby cousin and... wait..." She raises an eyebrow. "You've met Kal before? Or Batman?" Constantine raises a blonde brow before feigning injury,"They wound me. Nobody ever remembers poor ol' Johnny, best buddy of Swamp Thing an' world class private detective...shucks." He chuckle at that, then adds,"Sure I met'em. Bats a few times though Kal only the once." Kara Zor-El looks at John. "Okay um..... how exactly do you know my cousin? More importantly, how do you know BATMAN?" She pauses. "And who or what is a Swamp Thing?" Kara had only been on Earth for a little more than a year and a half, after all. Constantine chuckles at her reaction, grinning cheshire at it as he replies,"Oh, they helped me fix a couple problems with the Green once or twice. See, Mr Thing o' the Swamp, he's a big deal with the Green. Sorta like Poison Ivy, but not exactly. Real strong fella too. As for Bats, he's helped me out in a spot or two b'sides that." John takes a long sip on his drink with that brief recital. Kara Zor-El looks at John more closely. "O...kay. So you're like.... a superhero? Who does flim flam games for money?" She shakes her head. "I really need to ask Batman some time about you, I guess. Not sure what stuff you'd need Batman to help you with." She pats the table. Constantine chuckles again as he admits,"Eh. There's worse ways to earn me cig money. Between work, at the moment. Me private investigations, see, I specialize in the paranormal. Magic, demons, ancient curses, that's the sort of thing I work with. I don't know about superhero stuff though. You won't catch me in a cape, never cared for masks." Kara Zor-El blinks a few times. "So... uh...." She points to the door. "Why were you outside doing the thing with the cards?" Kara looks genuinely confused. Constantine sips at his drink for a moment, then replies,"Makin' money, lass. That's all, Games of chance are the best kind. The higher the odds, the richer the reward. The better the adrenaline." He draws a nasal breath, then asks,"So a lass as strapping as yourself, what you doin' waitin' tables?" Kara Zor-El shrugs a little. "It's a humanizing thing. I don't want people to always associate Supergirl with disasters and fighting, I guess." She looks around then at John. "I give my tips to the other waitresses. Don't really need the money." She takes a bite of her food. "Plus it's right across the bay from Titans Tower Island." Constantine hrms a little as he considers that. He'd never made up his mind about the ET sorts, where they fell in his scale of things that generally only involved Heaven, Hell, and Earth in between. Since the merger of worlds, it had gotten more confusing than ever Asgard tossed in the mix mucking everything up where it was so simple before. He admits,"I wager that is right convenient. I know plenty of folks that can fly, never got the hang of it m'self." Kara Zor-El nods a little. "Um...yeah." She rubs her head a bit. "So anyway, I guess... feel free to stop by the tower some time? You could tell me about these adventures you had with Batman or my cousin when they never told me anything about you. I actually sorta have to go... I need to be in Metropolis in..." She looks around at a clock on the wall of the diner. "Erk... 5 minutes and I need to first change and do some other stuff." Constantine rises to his feet, and ,being the gentleman his manner of speech might contradict, offers a hand to help her to her feet. Chivalry isn't dead. He offers,"I might see ya 'round, you're a better sport than yer cousin. By the by, ignore anythin' Nightwing has to say about me, I'd consider it a favor." He smiles and heads to the exit himself with a parting,"Thanks for the drink." Kara Zor-El smiles a bit as she takes his hand for the arduous task of standing up. :) Okay then. Note to self, Kara. Ask Dick about John Constantine. She leaves some cash on the table, including a tip for Tiffani, then heads out the door after John. "I mean that about stopping by the Tower! Remember, none of the card stuff in front of the diner, thanks!" Then with a blur, she's gone for her appointment on the other side of the country.